4 Types of Duncan Hines Cake Mix Recalled Amid Salmonella Outbreak

Conagra Brands is recalling four types of boxed cake mix over possible salmonella contamination, the company announced Monday. The recall comes after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found a specific type of salmonella bacteria that matched the bacteria found in five sick people who recently reported their illnesses to the CDC.

Specifically, the recall affects Classic White Cake, Classic Yellow Cake, Classic Butter Golden Cake, and Signature Confetti Cake mixes with "best if used by" dates between March 7 and March 13, 2019. Although these mixes haven't been conclusively linked to the CDC reports, they were voluntarily recalled out of "an abundance of caution," the company says, while the FDA's investigation continues.

The symptoms of a salmonella infection can start within a day of eating something contaminated with the bacteria.

Symptoms usually appear between 12 and 72 hours after you eat contaminated food, the CDC explains, and they last between four and seven days. As SELF wrote previously, those symptoms usually include:

Nausea

Vomiting

Abdominal cramps

Diarrhea

Fever

Chills

Headache

Blood in your stool

For healthy adults, a bout of salmonella isn't pleasant, but it usually isn't serious enough to warrant special care. It can typically be treated with basic home remedies, like staying hydrated and getting plenty of rest.

But for young children, pregnant people, the elderly, or anyone else with a compromised immune system, the infection is more likely to become more severe, possibly causing blood in their stool or dehydration that may require hospitalization. In these cases, the FDA says, the infection can also spread to the bloodstream and may become life-threatening unless the person gets prompt treatment with antibiotics.

The FDA cautions that consumers should not purchase, eat, or bake with the recalled cake mixes—and, as always, don't eat raw batter or dough. If you've already bought some, you can either throw it out or return it for a refund. What you do with that cake-less can of frosting, however, is between you and your spoon.